Defra extends nitrate zones but no extra funding provided

1:35pm Friday 25th July 2008

THE controversial Nitrate Vulnerable Zones are to be extended in parts of North Yorkshire and the North-East.

The largest will cover the Helmsley, Pickering and Malton area in North Yorkshire, with two small patches at Dishforth, near Thirsk, and Tadcaster.

In County Durham an area around Stanhope and Crook is included and further north an area around Ponteland, Northumberland.

Nationally, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is increasing NVZs to cover 70pc of England - up from 55pc.

The National Farmers' Union described the decision as a "bitter blow".

The Tenant Farmers' Association said it will cost dairy farmers £50,000, on average, to erect the extra slurry storage facilities required. The lack of grant aid was "unacceptable".

Defra has said they will be eligible for tax allowances and will have three years to meet the new slurry storage requirements.

But the TFA accused it of discriminating against English farmers.

Greg Bliss, TFA national chairman, said: "Other parts of the UK, not least Northern Ireland and Scotland, have offered grant assistance to their livestock producers in this respect."

The TFA believes farmers with tenancies under the 1986 Agricultural Holdings Act may be able to require their landlords to install the fixed equipment needed to meet the new statutory standards.

But it fears landlords may not be able to afford such an outlay across their entire estates.

Tenants on Farm Business Tenancies have no option but to find the finance themselves.

Mr Bliss said: "Without any grant assistance and with a new legal requirement, the Government has really left us high and dry."

Louise White, policy adviser with the North-East NFU, said they were particularly concerned about the financial impact on dairy farmers.

The NFU would continue to lobby the supply chain to try and ensure the extra costs faced by milk producers are reflected in the price they receive.

Peter Kendall, president of the NFU, said: "New stores need to be built or existing stores will need renovation. Sites need to be found, permissions obtained, and funding put in place.

"Dairy farmers will need every day of the three-year implementation phase we've negotiated.

"Although Defra has announced a support package to help farmers, it falls well short of the financial support offered by other member states and, indeed, other parts of the UK to their farmers."

On the positive side, he welcomed Defra's decision to drop proposals for cover crops to reduce run-off from bare ground.

Defra will also pursue a derogation from the European Commission on the 170 kg/ha whole farm nitrogen loading limit.

Further work will assess whether the risk of nitrate loss in winter months extends to January.

Advice workshops and a helpline will be set up, and an appeals system against designation.